Post by Zadkiel on Jan 12, 2016 17:20:46 GMT
The origin of this expression can be traced back to the custom of parents letting their children rest by their side during the night; thus causing them to enjoy security in the bosom of a loving father or mother. Abraham was supposed to act in the same manner towards his "children" after the fatigues and troubles of the present life, hence the metaphorical expression "to be in Abraham's Bosom" as meaning to be in repose and happiness with him after death.
According to Juan Maldonato, "to be in Abraham's Bosom" may also be derived from the custom of reclining on couches at a table, which prevailed among the Jews before and during the time of Jesus. At feasts, each guest leaned on his left elbow so as to leave his right arm at liberty and as two or more lay on the same couch, the head of one man was near the breast of the man behind. He was therefore said "to lie in the bosom" of the other. It was also considered by the Jews as a mark of special honour and favour to be allowed to lie in the bosom of the master of the feast; and it is by this illustration that they pictured the reward of the righteous dead as participating in a banquet given by Abraham, where the highest form of that reward was an invitation to be lying "in Abraham's Bosom".
Abraham's Bosom was also an alternative name of the so-called "Cave 4" at Qumrân, which was sometimes even known as "The Father's Tomb". This cave is an artificial hole in a narrow promontory and it has window openings on three sides, but because the cave is located on top of an overhanging cliff, the entrance and exit passage is made through a hole in the roof, which can be closed with a heavy stone. Moreover, Cave 4 was used as a latrine by male celibates. It was also the storage space for "unclean" literature, that is, "heretical" scrolls. Barbara Thiering claims that most of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were found in this cave belonged to the Nazareans.
The reason why I have chosen to use Abraham's Bosom as the name of this forum, is that a lot of my favoured topics have their origins in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; the religions that in many ways have sprung out of "Abraham's Bosom", since this patriarch plays an important role in all three. Also, I have used sources that stem from Cave 4 for some of my "heretical" hypotheses.
To use a flippant metaphor, I hope that through their combined effort, the users of this form will help me pull myth after myth away from Abraham's Bosom, where they have been nurtured by the belief of countless generations throughout centuries and millennia.
Thus, this site will probably not stimulate many typical intellectual minds, since they have already learned how to think for themselves. Neither is it meant for fundamentalists, since they probably won't be able to think for themselves and instead continue to believe verbatim many concepts that were never meant to be taken literally. No, my target group is primarily seekers that are honest enough to question what they have been blindly taught to believe, then brave enough to discuss it with others. The main point is not to agree, however, as the results we arrive at may vary from one individual to another.
According to Juan Maldonato, "to be in Abraham's Bosom" may also be derived from the custom of reclining on couches at a table, which prevailed among the Jews before and during the time of Jesus. At feasts, each guest leaned on his left elbow so as to leave his right arm at liberty and as two or more lay on the same couch, the head of one man was near the breast of the man behind. He was therefore said "to lie in the bosom" of the other. It was also considered by the Jews as a mark of special honour and favour to be allowed to lie in the bosom of the master of the feast; and it is by this illustration that they pictured the reward of the righteous dead as participating in a banquet given by Abraham, where the highest form of that reward was an invitation to be lying "in Abraham's Bosom".
Abraham's Bosom was also an alternative name of the so-called "Cave 4" at Qumrân, which was sometimes even known as "The Father's Tomb". This cave is an artificial hole in a narrow promontory and it has window openings on three sides, but because the cave is located on top of an overhanging cliff, the entrance and exit passage is made through a hole in the roof, which can be closed with a heavy stone. Moreover, Cave 4 was used as a latrine by male celibates. It was also the storage space for "unclean" literature, that is, "heretical" scrolls. Barbara Thiering claims that most of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were found in this cave belonged to the Nazareans.
The reason why I have chosen to use Abraham's Bosom as the name of this forum, is that a lot of my favoured topics have their origins in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; the religions that in many ways have sprung out of "Abraham's Bosom", since this patriarch plays an important role in all three. Also, I have used sources that stem from Cave 4 for some of my "heretical" hypotheses.
To use a flippant metaphor, I hope that through their combined effort, the users of this form will help me pull myth after myth away from Abraham's Bosom, where they have been nurtured by the belief of countless generations throughout centuries and millennia.
Thus, this site will probably not stimulate many typical intellectual minds, since they have already learned how to think for themselves. Neither is it meant for fundamentalists, since they probably won't be able to think for themselves and instead continue to believe verbatim many concepts that were never meant to be taken literally. No, my target group is primarily seekers that are honest enough to question what they have been blindly taught to believe, then brave enough to discuss it with others. The main point is not to agree, however, as the results we arrive at may vary from one individual to another.
